Bucks receive occupancy permit for new arena less than two years after groundbreaking

Check out recent drone footage of the nearly-complete Milwaukee Bucks arena.
Mike De Sisti and James B. Nelson, Milwaukee

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The Milwaukee Bucks got the OK from the City of Milwaukee to move into parts of the new arena. The city issued an occupancy permit on Thursday.(Photo11: Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)Buy Photo

Less than two years after groundbreaking, the Milwaukee Bucks can start moving into their new $524 million arena.

The milestone was reached when the city on Thursday issued a certificate of occupancy which allows the Bucks to move into some parts of the building.

The Bucks will start by moving into security, administrative and food service offices, said Mortenson spokeswoman Bridget Kraus.

Construction is nearly complete, and the arena is expected to open in late summer. The first announced date is a Sept. 13 show by comic Kevin Hart, but events are expected to be scheduled earlier than that.

A statement by construction manager Mortenson said that "workers continue to put the final touches on the building and transition the facility to ongoing operations."

More than 800 workers were on the site during the winter when employment was at its peak and interior work was moving along rapidly. About 3,800 workers have worked more than 1.8 million hours on the project to date, Mortenson said.

About 250 workers remain on the site, Kraus said.

“We are extremely pleased to reach this important milestone early and look forward to completing the arena over the next couple of months as scheduled,” said Mike Sorge, construction executive at Mortenson.

“It’s been exciting to see the project progress so well and we are grateful to all the exceptional craft workers and incredible project partners who have enabled us to get to this point.”

Groundbreaking for the arena was June 18, 2016.

Built with $250 million in public money, the arena is owned by the Wisconsin Center District and leased to the Bucks. The Bucks will keep all revenue generated at the arena in exchange for a promise to pay for upkeep.

The arena replaces the BMO Harris Bradley Center just to the south. Home of the Bucks for 30 years, demolition of the Bradley Center will begin in the fall.